HALIFAX -- The federal government says it is firing the suspended CEO of Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. after a report tabled Tuesday in the House of Commons concluded that he breached the Crown agency's code of conduct by hiring four people with ties to the federal Conservatives and Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative party.
A spokeswoman for Rob Moore, the minister of state for Enterprise Cape Breton Corp., did not respond to an interview request but sent a statement saying John Lynn will be dismissed following the report by the federal integrity commissioner.
"I have taken steps to terminate Mr. Lynn's employment," Moore said in the statement.
"I accept the public sector integrity commissioner's findings and ECBC has already implemented his recommendations."
Lynn could not be reached for comment.
In his report, Mario Dion said Lynn hired four people in 2009-10 without showing that there was a formal hiring process or that their appointments were based on merit.
Without a comprehensive explanation from Lynn, the integrity commissioner determined there was an element of deliberateness to his actions that could reasonably be expected to create a perception of patronage within the federal public sector, Dion's report says.
Dion told a news conference that his investigators talked with representatives for Lynn more than once but he was bound by the law governing his office from revealing what was discussed.
"We came to the conclusion that there was wrongdoing in spite of the representations made by Mr. Lynn's representatives," he said.
Dion launched his investigation last year after the Liberals filed a complaint alleging Lynn did not follow proper procedures when he made the hires.
Liberal MP Roger Cuzner provided to The Canadian Press a copy of a letter Dion addressed to him that says the four people who were hired were: Ken Langley, a defeated Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative candidate; Robert MacLean, a former executive assistant to a former provincial Tory cabinet minister Cecil Clarke; Allan Murphy, a former chief of staff to federal cabinet minister Peter MacKay; and Nancy Baker, who worked for MacKay both prior to and following her term at Enterprise Cape Breton Corp.
Dion was asked Tuesday whether there was any evidence that linked MacKay given his association with two of the people hired.
"We have no indication of a direct involvement by Mr. MacKay," said Dion.
Dion says in the report that while Lynn's appointment decisions were inconsistent with good governance standards, they did not amount to gross mismanagement nor did they affect the ability of Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. to carry out its mandate to promote development in that region.
Lynn was named CEO of Enterprise Cape Breton Corp. in May 2008, and had previously been a long-serving executive with Sobeys.
